The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) has gained more than 100,000 new social media followers and 4M views within days of launching on TikTok.
The short-form video hosting service has swept the online world and the lifesaving charity is now third only in the UK sector on TikTok behind the Black Country Living Museum and the British Red Cross.
That instant success has also propelled the RNLI through the 1M barrier for followers across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and now TikTok.
RNLI Strategic Social Media Manager Athar Abidi said: ‘Our TikTok launch was meant to be a low-profile affair to allow us the opportunity to test and learn so its immediate popularity took us all a little by surprise.
‘As a discovery channel, TikTok gives us the chance to reach and resonate with a new audience, so over the coming weeks we will be posting content that reflects the diversity of our work, our volunteers and our supporters to inform our ongoing content strategy.’
Launched on Wednesday 13 July, the very first RNLI TikTok post showed its volunteer lifeboat crews and beach lifeguards battling rough seas – a post which attracted more than 2.6M views.
Other posts include the rescue of a young woman being pulled out of the water by lifeboat crews at Weston-Super-Mare, a video showcasing the five classes of RNLI all-weather lifeboats and a behind the scenes look at a floating boathouse at Poole.
Athar added: ‘This new channel will help us save lives at sea by reaching a new generation of supporters by delivering key safety advice to an organic audience that now tops the one million mark who can help spread our message even further through their extended networks.
‘Our most recent TikTok post gives advice ahead of the school summer holidays which has been viewed over 12,000 times and carries vital lifesaving information such as reminding people to visit a lifeguarded beach and calling 999 in an emergency.’
